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tv   Jose Diaz- Balart Reports  MSNBC  November 12, 2024 8:00am-9:00am PST

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good morning. 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. president-elect donald trump is wasting no time in filling key roles in his next administration. trump expected to nominate florida senator marco rubio to be secretary of state. that's according to three sources familiar with the
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selection process. if confirmed, rubio would be the first latino ever to serve as the nation's top diplomat and the highest ranking latino to serve in the federal government. for another key role, four sources familiar say kristi noem will be homeland security secretary. this comes after trump chose florida congressman mike waltz to be his national security advisor. and lee zeldin to head the environmental protection agency. all of this coming as congress returns to washington for the lame duck session with a lot to do on its list. overnight, nbc news projected democratic congressman ruben gallego has won the arizona senate race. he will be the first latino to represent the grand canyon state in the senate. with us now to talk all about this, nbc's vaughn hillyard in west palm beach, florida. jake sherman and new york times
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congressional correspondent annie carney. vaughan, what's trump's message with rubio as secretary of state? >> reporter: this decision here is one that perhaps was surprising to many in maga world. many who are very staunch donald trump allies, more of the isolationist mold because marco rubio's history is more representative of a more hockish traditional republican stance toward not only china but iran and cuba. and that's where over the last particularly two years that we have seen a change in posture to a certain extent from marco rubio, a softening of approach that falls more in line with donald trump's view of the extent to which the u.s. should intervene in overseas conflicts or diplomatic efforts that are more tumultuous. that scenario an example of that is ukraine where marco rubio has openly suggested that there may need to be a settlement with russia to bring
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an end to the war, which donald trump has suggested he'd be able to bring the war to an end in 24 hours. and marco rubio was among more than a dozen senators last spring who voted against $85 billion in additional supplemental military aid to go to ukraine. and so donald trump clearly is finding somebody in marco rubio who he is placing a high level of trust in to fill this role. of course, the two individuals, they had a difficult relationship in 2016, but for a great many of the more establishment figures in washington, d.c. not only republicans but also democrats even like john fetterman praising the selection today. marco rubio is a long-time chair, a ranking member of the senate intelligence committee. and mark warner has touted the relationship they have had on that committee. it also falls in line with mike waltz who served in afghanistan and africa, a veteran who is selected to be national security advisor. another type of a figure that
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one could expect to work well with marco rubio, his fellow floridian. and of course nbc news reporting that donald trump is expected to tap the department of homeland security, of course that is a big role that oversees everything from ice and the border patrol to secret service. so that would be a big portfolio they would be falling under, the south dakota governor. >> what do you make of the marco rubio pick? and vaughan was just talking about, you know, rubio has deep knowledge and has had very clear policy positions not only with, you know, china but iran and then let's talk about latin america. cuba, venezuela, honduras, el salvador. what does it tell you about this decision? >> reporter: well, i think that the choice of rubio signifies, first of all, the influence that susie wiles is playing on
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the trump administration already. he's very close with susie wiles, the white house chief of staff. he, there were other trump loyalists who were in the running. this is an example where someone with deep foreign policy experience won over a trump loyalist maybe. rubio will sail through the senate. there's not going to be a problem with his confirmation. he has relationships with democrats and republicans from the intel committee. but it's also an example of how much the republican party has shifted and shape shifted for trump. when rubio burst on the national seen, he was seen as the future for the republican party. this cuban-born son of immigrants as the guy who could go all the way to the oval office, this like very unique american dream story. and he has hardened on immigration. he work on the immigration reform bill of 2013 was seen as a political killer for him. he's distanced himself from
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that. he's obviously worked hard to repair his relationship with trump, which people say has gotten stronger since the 2016 campaign. and it's just what we've seen from a lot of these people. you could say that he is an elise stefanik. these are young republican leaders who have long been seen as the future of their party, and their party completely changed, and they're still the future of the party. these are the shape shifters who are changed policy positions, changed themselves to be able to still be in the top jobs in a republican administration. >> yeah. no doubt. and annie, just to reconfirm some of that, you know, rubio ran for president as we all remember. and the battle between he and trump at the time, but rubio ran for president and among other things because he was born in miami, not born in cuba, both his parents were born in cuba. he's able to.
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absolutely. and jake, we were just talking about that. pennsylvania senator john fetterman posting that rubio is, quote, strong choice and he looks forward to voting for his confirmation. this does look like in this specific case rubio would have probably an easy confirmation process? >> reporter: incredibly easy. i don't know if it will be a voice vote, meaning everybody would consent to him ascending to secretary of state. but it'll be pretty close. i mean, number one, senators generally have an easier time within reason getting through to the executive branch. but you know, a lot of democrats, including i would assume someone like mark warner who you mentioned, they've served on the intelligence committee for a long time. marco rubio has been a serious figure on foreign policy on international relations, even with democrats, has worked with democrats in the intelligence
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committee. as mark warner and marco rubio always say is one place where partisanship doesn't really exist. of course it exists everywhere, but it is one place that democrats and republicans work together in dealing with this highly sensitive intelligence that they get at the committee. so yes, marco rubio will be confirmed easily. listen, jose, the reality is this, despite trump talking about these recess appointments that he's been talking about somewhat quizzically, i don't really see right now anybody that has been mentioned for a confirmable position, meaning one that has to go through the senate. i don't see any of them having problems. in a 53-seat republican majority in the senate, i don't see anybody whether it's rubio or kristi noem having any sort of problems. so i don't know, you know, i don't know why he's talking about recess appointments when he has a large senate majority, a large republican senate majority.
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>> yeah. annie, i was just thinking back on your comment about how the republican party and much of its leaders have had to, you know, shape shift over the years, annie. i'm just thinking and of course this would not, it would not be under his responsibilities, but marco rubio at one time was a part of the gang of eight that in the senate tried to have comprehensive immigration reform that passed in the senate. of course, it died in the house. but talk about shape shifting on that issue. this is a totally different marco rubio than he was when he was a member of the gang of eight. >> reporter: yeah. i mean, he's been different for a long time, and he distanced himself from his own legislation after it failed in the house. and kind of disowned it. and has defended trump, trump's comments throughout the campaign, and just kind of fallen in line on immigration issues. but i think that as secretary
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of state, you know, foreign leaders are expecting four years of unexpected, like they're bracing themselves for a trump administration. i think that the challenge rubio will have will be looking to assure foreign leaders that he is someone with foreign policy experience. he's not someone who doesn't have the resume to be appointed to this job, which sometimes can happen in a trump administration. that people who in a normal administration would never even be on a short list for these jobs somehow get there. this is not the case. you can disagree with his views, but he is qualified for the position. that might bring solace to foreign leaders who are just terrified of what the next four years could bring. >> and vaughan, meanwhile, elon musk has been a regular presence around mar-a-lago since the election. what do we know about his role in the trump transition? >> reporter: right. we've heard from multiple sources who have described elon
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musk's presence around not only mar-a-lago but palm beach is almost constant. he has not only gone on the golf course with donald trump but also on saturday night there was a dinner at mar-a- lago, and the way that those dinners have been described to me is that usually donald trump is blasting music out on the patio of the mar-a-lago club, and he is usually in control of the ipad that is playing the music. but saturday night was a little bit different, and that was because of who he was sitting down with at the dinner table, and there was no music being played over dinner because he was sitting down with elon musk. he has become very much a key part of this transition and where this kind of relationship goes from here is not exactly clear. but for now, one week after donald trump's ascension in large part with the help of elon musk, not only with america pac and the ground organization they were running, but also of course the platform of x, which was a key promoter
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of positive trump material online, clearly these two men have built a very rosy relationship. at least as of right now. and we will wait to see exactly what his role within this administration or even the transition here looks like going forward. but for now, he's very much a fixture here down in palm beach. >> jake, i've been thinking about this. so far, trump has selected two house members? republican house members to be members of his administration. how could these absences affect republicans in the house when we're still not able to call who is gonna be in charge of the house of representatives going forward? >> reporter: yeah. trump needs to stop, to be honest with you, because he's going to nominate his house republican majority into the minority very shortly. he has, mike johnson the speaker of the house, has an extraordinarily thin majority. maybe one seat larger than he had all of this congress.
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and steve scalise and mike johnson said trump reached his limit. he cannot put any more house republicans into the administration after mike waltz and elise stefanik who are national security advisor nominee and ambassador to the united nations. i know there are a lot of people from a lot of different delegations who want this role. but if you, it doesn't mesh with the fact that trump has a very aggressive 100-day agenda that he'd like to put in place as do house republicans and senate republicans. if you don't have a majority, you're not able to pass that agenda. annie and i have been covering this incredibly tight majority and it will be equally tight. and remember, he's going to have already, mike johnson is going to have basically no room for error. special elections take time. i know the trump administration oftentimes at least from 2017
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to 2021, they were befuddled by capitol hill. they didn't understand it. nor did they care to understand it. but special elections take time. each state has its own statute, its own law about when they have to schedule these special elections. so scalise said they reached their limit. they can't do any more nominations. we'll see if they heed that advice, the trump administration. >> annie and jake, then there is the issue of what happens if rubio goes to the department of state. that opens up then the senate slot, which has to be filled by the governor of the state. >> reporter: that's right. desantis will make an appointment there. but the house is the more interesting place. you know, i was thinking this morning all of these trump loyalists in the house who may have been positioning themselves for something if he won, they might have, for their own personal goals, it might have been easier for them if democrats had won back the majority and trump had won the white house.
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then he could take as many as he wanted. it wouldn't matter. but this trifecta with a tiny majority is going to make life in the house, if you thought it was chaotic the past two years, i don't think we're going to see anything more easier for house republican leadership going forward. yeah. >> vaughn hillyard, jake sherman, and annie karnii, thank you for being with us this morning. why the judge in trump's hush money case has delayed the decision on whether he'll set aside trump's conviction or let it stand. several u.s. airlines suspend flights in and out of haiti's capitol after two airplanes were hit by gunfire. we're keeping our eye on the white house where any moment the israeli president will meet with president biden. we're back in 90 seconds. you're watching jose diaz-
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balart reports on msnbc. i'm here to help you understand how to get the most from medicare. if you're eligible for medicare, it's a good idea to have original medicare. it gives you coverage for doctor office visits and hospital stays. if you want even more benefits, you can choose a medicare advantage plan like the wons offered at humana. original medicare with extra benefits with zero dollar or low monthly plan premiums. these plans could include prescription drug coverage with zero dollar copays on hundreds of prescriptions. plus, there's a cap on your out of pocket costs. most plans include dental, vision, even hearing coverage. there are zero dollar copays for in-network preventive services and much more. get the most from medicare with a humana medicare advantage plan. call today to american more. annual enrollment ends december 7th. humana, a more human way to
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healthcare. >> two girls went missing. you don't think there might be a link? >> this town is crying out for truth. >> leave me alone! >> i need answers. >> cough, cough. sneeze, sneeze. needs plop, plop, fizz, fizz. alka-seltzer cold and flu plus. also try the new chewable fizzy chews. no water needed. breaking news from new york city. the judge overseeing donald trump's new york hush money case will not issue a ruling today on whether the case can continue after the u.s. supreme court's presidential immunity ruling earlier this year. the judge initially expected to rule today, but instead will delay his ruling by at least one week. with us now, legal correspondent lisa ruben.
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what does this mean? why the delay? >> reporter: jose, the parties have gone to judge marchan together and believe a stay is warranted here of all future deadlines in the case because former president and future president trump's lawyers say his sentencing and even the existence of the verdict present new constitutional concerns in light of his election. and the da's office here is agreeing that there are some values here that are essentially in collision with one another. on one hand, they believe that the jury's verdict should be upheld. on the other hand, they recognize as does the former and future president's team that there are specific constitutional concerns to the sentencing and conviction of a future president. and particularly one who needs to pay attention right now to the transition. so they jointly asked judge merchan to grant a stay. the da's office asked them for a stay through november 19th.
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they won't rule today and it also means the da's office will likely not submit their own sentencing memo. we would not have expected to see that sentencing memo, but generally speaking, it would be submitted to a judge in the new york system at least 10 days before that sentencing. the sentencing was originally scheduled for november 26th. >> turning to a separate case, a short time ago the u.s. supreme court refused an effort by mark meadows to have his election interference case moved. is there any significance to this move? >> reporter: there's a significance in the sense that mark meadows and other folks believe their ability to mount certain defenses to the georgia election interference case would have been stronger in a federal court. they think that federal judges might be more adept with federal constitutional questions than, for example, a
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fulton county superior court judge might be. but in refusing mark meadows' request, where this puts him now is where he always was with an appeal pending to the georgia court of appeals whether fannie willis can remain in control to begin with. for the independent body that appoints successive prosecutors, not to appoint someone to take her place and take over that case. >> really appreciate it. up next, another u.s. deadline for israel to improve the aid situation in gaza or risk cuts in u.s. military support is on the horizon. richard engel is just back from an air drop over gaza with what he saw. plus, what we know about president-elect donald trump's border czar, tom homan who is no stranger to controversy.
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and see wicked, only in theaters november 22nd. the u.s. conducted a new round of strikes in syria against iranian-backed groups. u.s. central command said it struck nine separate targets on sunday in response to several attacks on u.s. personnel in syria. meanwhile on the ground in gaza, aid groups say israel has failed to meet u.s. demands to
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allow additional humanitarian assistance into the gaza strip. last month, the biden administration gave israel a 30- day deadline expiring today to allow more aid before u.s. law would require the u.s. to scale back military assistance to israel. joining us now is richard engel from jordan. richard, you just got back from a flight with the jordanian air force as hay dropped aid into gaza. what did you see? >> reporter: so, we just returned from this aid flight. it left from a military air base here in aman, jordan. it was a c-130 with about eight tons of supplies. food, pasta, tomato sauce, olive oil, medical supplies wrapped into bundles, loaded on top of palettes, each palette attached to a parachute. as we got over southern gaza, the back of the plane opened, and the palettes rolled off the
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back of the plane and floated down into southern gaza. we also had our crew, our local team in gaza there anticipating this arrival and watching the people's response. and as people in gaza saw these packets of aid descending to the ground, they started scrambling. they started running. they wanted to be the first ones to get there knowing that these eight tons of supplies would quickly, would quickly run out. and that's the level of desperation that we were able to capture just today. you mentioned that the u.s. issued quite a stern and somewhat rare warning to israel a month ago. this was in a letter from the secretary of state and defense secretaries saying that unless israel did more, it could risk losing or seeing american military aid scaled back. and there were three main
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issues that the us wanted to see addressed specifically. one, more convoys of aid trucks going in. two, more commercial trucks going in. because it is not just free supplies that go into gaza or don't go into gaza because everything that goes into gaza must be approved first by the israeli military. there are also commercial trucks and they wanted to see the end of the isolation of northern gaza because just because you can get aid into the gaza strip doesn't mean you can get it into the most northern part of the gaza strip where there have been ongoing intense israeli military operations. u.n. officials say those conditions were not met and based on the desperation we were able to see today, it doesn't seem like they are being met. >> richard, thank you very much. up next, what we're learning about trump's
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potential plans to replace this man. it's one of trump's most important campaign promises, to enact the most massive deportation force in history. what that actually means for millions of people right here in our country right now. you're watching jose diaz- balart reports on msnbc. on ms. a once-daily pill for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, and the chance at clear or almost clear skin. it's like the feeling of finding you're so ready for your close-up. or finding you don't have to hide your skin just your background. once-daily sotyktu was proven better, getting more people clearer skin than the leading pill. don't take if you're allergic to sotyktu; serious reactions can occur. sotyktu can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections, cancers including lymphoma, muscle problems, and changes in certain labs have occurred. tell your doctor if you have an infection, liver or kidney problems, high triglycerides, or had a vaccine or plan to. sotyktu is a tyk2 inhibitor.
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32 past the hour. this morning, we're learning more about trump's plans for his second administration. nbc news has new reporting that fbi director christopher wray and the trump team are planning for the possibility that president-elect trump will replace wray according to three people familiar with the matter. ken dilanian is with us this morning. good morning. what do we know about this? >> reporter: good morning, jose. well, if you remember, of course, donald trump hired christopher wray. he's a republican. he hired him after he fired james comey early in his last term. wray told lester holt he wanted to stay and serve out the full 10-year term. fbi directors are supposed to
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be independent and serve 10- year terms once appointed generally. the president does have the power to remove the fbi director, and we understand that both sides, both the wray team and the trump team, are planning for the possibility that will happen. remember, donald trump's been really, really critical of the fbi throughout the four years he's been out of office, but particularly after they raided his home in mar-a-lago and participated in the jack smith prosecutions. there does seem to be a great momentum for trump to bring in his own person at the fbi. that could be among his most consequential appointments given the rhetoric in maga world about deep-state conspiracies within the fbi and political prosecutions. this is really one to watch, jose. >> so who could trump be considering as fbi director? >> reporter: so there's the rub. it really runs the gamut. we've reported he's considering a man named kash patel, who is a real bomb thrower. he's explicitly said there are
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corrupt agents inside the fbi trying to persecute donald trump. that would be a dramatic development that would really be greeted with fear and disquiet inside the fbi. on the other side, we've heard the name mike rodgers of michigan who lost a senate race. he's a former fbi agent, a former army officer. he would be viewed as a credible figure. he's certainly a naga guy. he supported donald trump. but he would be seen more as a mainstream pick who wouldn't necessarily disrupt and cause all sorts of problems. again, we'll have to see who he picks. we're all waited with baited breath here, jose. >> absolutely. and again, the director wray, they're put in for 10-year periods, right? >> reporter: that's right. unless donald trump decides to fire him or signals that he should leave, he serves for three more years. generally, presidents have allowed fbi directors to remain in place. it would be a significant thing and a disruptive thing and it would be the second fbi
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director donald trump removed if he goes forward with this, jose. >> ken dilanian, thank you so much much. president-elect trump has made the border and mass deportations one of the central pillars of his campaign. now he is announcing two key appointments to carry out that agenda. his former senior advisor stephen miller will be deputy chief of staff for policy. and trump's border czar will be former acting ice director tom homan who carried out trump's family separation policy and so much more. here's what homan said he would do if appointed to a second trump administration. >> trump comes back in january, i'll be on the heels coming back, and i will run the biggest deportation operation this country's ever seen. i'm sick and tired about hearing about the family separation. come get me. i don't give a. [bleep] . i don't give a. [bleep] what anybody says. >> joining us, immigration attorney and past president of the american immigration
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lawyers association. thank you for being with us this morning. i've been, you know, thinking about what are your thoughts and what are your main concerns going forward with this new reality? >> so first, stephen miller is not chief of staff. that should send a message to his power and where the trump administration finds him. besides someone who a camp republican. with regards to tom homan, he's a 30-year career police officer. so he's going to follow the rules. he's not exactly the nicest person. but he is a rule follower and not a rule breaker. he had these same sort of resources when he worked under the obama administration. he was not successful in closing the border or stopping or mass deporting a lot of people. he did a minor raid, some raids of some factories many mississippi. he caught 620 undocumented individuals at low-wage jobs that disrupted a whole area of farmworkers. so the concept that the president by election is going to change the will of
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government is just a falsehood. he doesn't have the staff. he doesn't have the planes. they don't have the pilots ever the resources. there's a three million case backlog in immigration court and our supreme court has recently said in 2020 that each undocumented immigrant receives due process. the concept of doing this mass deportation is just sort of off base. >> the thing is that i'm glad you mentioned this because you give us context as you always do, but under the obama administration, there were years where more than 400,000 plus people were deported. and at the time, the president was very clear that he was prioritizing what those deportations, who the people deported would be. you know, there were the criminals, all that. but in reality, a lot of people that were not criminals were also deported. and i'm just wondering, what is it that the executive has as far as how much power does the
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executive have to deal with issues like deportation and immigration policy and asylum policy? >> let's make a distinction between the obama administration. a lot of those happened at the port of entry at the southern border. that's different than doing these big interior enforcement actions with a variety of states with different rules. the president does not have the right to go in there. it's great to be an american where we have these sort of rules because most time when ice shows up, they have an administrative warrant. in order to enter your home, they need a judicial warrant. same thing to go into private places. if they show up, you don't just sort of turn over the keys and say do whatever you like. there's the process of finding these individuals. the process they're doing right now is mass fear of having a large group of people sort of feeling fear being in the united states. this is what i'm telling everybody. this is the new talk for immigrants in this country. black people for a long time have had to talk with their young kids about if a cop stops
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you. now every immigrant is going to have to have the talk whether you're documented or undocumented because there's nothing distinguishable about that without your paperwork. if you are able to get a passport, get a passport. make sure you have copies. have a plan if you're undocumented that if you are captured or detained that your family will know what to do next. they have an attorney they can contact and resources to help you get through the system to make sure you get the due processes needed. you do not have to say anything if you're detained and never sign anything without consulting a lawyer. >> nbc news has exclusive reporting that trump is considering ending two biden immigration programs, the cvp-1 and the parole program for people from cuba, haiti, nicaragua. what can president trump do with these programs and what
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happens to those 1.3 plus million people? >> right. the concept is to remove undocumented people. he's just building a greater class. he might know where they are, but these are people who are friends who are working in companies, who have jobs, who rebuild springfield, ohio. i hope people remember for those of you who watched end game when half the people sort of disappeared. what happened with emotionally to people but also to jobs and the economy. this concept of rounding up immigrants and removing them is not going to help us. when in fact it was the immigrant influx under the biden administration that helped us get through the covid. so the concept doesn't seem unworkable and making more people undocumented will only increase the amount of money it would take to remove them. think about texas. they spent $4.4 billion to remove a total of around 23,000 people from texas. otherwise, they were busing or building walls. >> alan, you know, you and i have spoken about this over the years, but it's just the
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concept of asylum, right? it's, how it has changed and how administrations are able to change even the basic concept of what it is to ask for asylum in our country. how do we, alan, reinforce that concept, and how do we define it best for those that are looking toward the united states as a beacon of hope? as a light of the american dream? >> unfortunately, asylum has been so poisoned because it's a legal way to enter the country. anyone seeking asylum is here lawfully under our constitution. asylum is still a legal way to enter the country. unfortunately because of troubles around the world, we have so many people seeking asylum we've decided to redefine it. even i believe elon musk came as a refugee or someone in his family. a lot of company starters did. it's a misunderstanding of how asylum operates. we may need to redefine the way
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the process works as biden sought to do, and we are looking that it might be too aggressive. the concept that people need help and an understanding of welcoming the other as we move into the christmas season when we think about in christian religion one of the greatest refugees of all time, we need to rethink the way we're going to be americans. keeping out the other will not produce what we want. >> alan, i think you very much for your time. appreciate it. up next, the iranian regime has already tried several times to make iranian american journalist and activist disappear. we'll talk to her about the regime's latest attempt and how it's tied to an alleged plot to assassinate donald trump. plus, passengers rattled after their spirit airlines plane was hit by gunfire while trying to land in haiti. >> i could hear three distinct crack, crack, crack, you know, over the back of the plane. th
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47 past the hour. a couple of u.s. airlines have suspended all flights in and out of haiti after two passenger flights were hit with bullets. tom costello is following the story. two airplanes? >> reporter: that's right. jet blue flight 935, spirit 951. this was very dangerous. thankfully both aircraft landed safely. these were clearly marked passenger planes with airline logos. much of port-au-prince is lawless. we don't know the motivation for the shooting, but this could have ended in disaster. grounded, u.s. airlines canceling flights in and out of haiti. and news of a second incident involving a passenger plane hit by gunfire. overnight, jet blue announced one of its planes returned from
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port-au-prince on monday landing safely at jfk in new york saying a post-flight inspection found the aircraft's exterior had been struck by a bullet. some of the passengers from a spirit airlines flight that was also hit by gunfire as it approached port-au-prince on monday are now back in florida. >> i could hear three distinct crack, crack, crack, you know, over the back of the plane. >> reporter: video and photos from inside the plane show signs of the bullets that tore into the passenger cabin. on the plane's belly, at least one bullet hole, an electrical line also apparently hit. >> i think the crew was really traumatized. >> reporter: amazingly, no passengers were hit. but spirit says one flight attendant did suffer a minor injury. spirit flight 951 was arriving from fort lauderdale when it was hit by gunfire from the ground as it approached port-au- prince. they diverted to santiago where
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an inspection revealed evidence of damage to the aircraft consistent with gunfire. aviation experts say gunfire could have easily hit the plane's fuel, hydraulic systems, and cockpit causing the plane to crash. >> this crew and these passengers were very fortunate that luck prevailed and nobody in the airplane was injured and that the airplane wasn't more critically damaged. this could have gone very badly. >> reporter: haiti has been racked by brutal gang violence for years with a barely functioning government, u.n. peacekeepers from kenya are on the ground. in september, the state department issued a do not travel advisory for haiti warning that the airport can be the focal point for armed activity. so far, roughly four u.s. flights a day have been going into port-au-prince. now americans suspending flights until at least monday. at this point, jose, the
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airport is closed anyway. we'll see if the faa issues any guidance in the coming hours or daysment back to you. >> tom costello, thank you so very much. and now turning to new details about an iranian murder for hire plot. the department of justice has charged three men they allege iran hired to assassinate then- candidate donald trump. but also iranian-american journalist who is a critic of the iranian regime. joining us now is that journalist, masih alinejad. my solidarity with you always. >> that means a lot to me. >> thank you. this is, i believe, the third time this regime has launched a plot to either kidnap you or kill you or kidnap you and kill you. i'm just wondering how are you? what are you thinking today? >> reporter: i love my life, you know? i've been given a second life, and i appreciate every single moment. you know, it was quite scary to
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read the details. the fbi told me the person who was assigned to assassinate president trump was the same one hired two men from new york plotting to kill me. i was actually scheduled to go to fairfield university, which is in connecticut, and i love connecticut. but what happened, these two men from new york were there taking pictures and waiting for me, to meet me, which would have been a disaster. and these two person were actually waiting for me hours in front of my old house where i'm not even there. i mean, many time at msnbc, fox news, cnn i said that. i was supposed to sell that house, and i've been moved 21 times between safe houses. but the guy from new york, they were waiting for me outside the house in brooklyn to kill me. >> you know, what does it say to you and to all of us that
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this regime that has been in power in in iran since 1979, that rules with an iron fist is so scared of and is so concerned with a brilliant, intelligent woman that all she talks about is the need for that country and persians to be able to live in freedom. what does it tell you that, that's what they fear? >> reporter: you make me emotional because it's, uh, ironic that the same regime always telling us that america is great satan. america is the biggest enemy of iran. but it seems that they are scared of their own women more than being scared of america. so three plots against a woman shows you that the islamic republic is really scared of its own women because they know that we want to end this
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regime. and i want to use this opportunity to ask americans to be with us students, college campus, everywhere. you hear me, this is the regime. they want to kill me because i echo the voice of brave women saying no to gender apart tide. they want to dance, they want to express themselves, but this regime is scared of us. and so far, i haven't heard anything from the administration, the biden administration is absolutely silent. telling me go under witness to text. it means i have to hide myself. this is what the islamic republic wants me to do. they want to kill my spirit. they want to kill my voice. i'm a women's rights activist, and i want to be loud. that's why i came in america, to practice my freedom of speech, my first amendment. it is, i'm very heartbroken at the same time when i see nobody
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cares in america that the iranian regime threatening the national security of this country. they're threatening the freedom of speech of this country. so i love america, and i don't want to see these killers following me everywhere in new york that i go. the same person who were trying to kill me was the same person trying to kill president trump as well. i hope at least the future president, the future administration willing to protect every individual in america and the national security of the united states of america, my adopted country. >> and you know, that is the modus on ran dumb, the destruction of those who think differently. the destruction of those who simply want to speak and dance and laugh and enjoy their lives. that's the line that goes through all of history, the authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, that's their modus
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operandi. masih alinejad, thank you for being with us. i appreciate it. >> reporter: thank you for never giving up on me. >> thank you. up next, a crypto craze following donald trump's election. bitcoin is at its all-time high. what exactly is this whole bitcoin thing? we're going to get to the bottom of it next. you're watching jose diaz- balart reports on msnbc. on ms. plans available in your area, you may be eligible to get extra benefits with a humana medicare advantage dual-eligible special needs plan. most plans include the humana healthy options allowance. a monthly allowance to help pay for eligible groceries, utilities, rent, and over-the-counter items. the healthy options allowance is loaded onto a prepaid card each month. and whatever you don't spend, carries over from each month. plus, your doctor, hospital and
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with so much great entertainment out there... wouldn't it be easier if you could find what you want, all in one place? my favorites. get xfinity streamsaver with netflix, apple tv+, and peacock included, for only $15 a month. trump made many promises to the crypto industry including wanting to make the u.s. the crypto capital of the planet. joining us now is makenzie. so why is crypto booming? >> jose, so much of this record surge comes down to the u.s. election. you had nearly 300 pro crypto
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low makers win house and senate seats which bodes well for getting existing bills passed into law that would open the door for wall street. you have investors pricing in a future where donald trump delivers on all of his campaign promises to the industry perhaps most notably, the president-elect wants to replace the chair of the u.s. securities and exchange commission who has brought more than 100 enforcement actions against crypto companies with someone who is more friendly to the industry. that's why you are seeing meme coins surge since the election, jose. >> and so, explain to me if you would, i know that for example the president of el salvador has been really big on crypto and other things. what are the main obstacles to crypto in the united states, crypto becoming more of of a
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thing in el salvador. >> you have donald trump coming into office having a total about face to crypto currency. he once called it a scam, now he is looking to launch a u.s. crypto stockpile where the u.s. would hold bitcoin on its balance sheet. we are seeing shifting tides here. >> great seeing you, i thank you so very much. appreciate it. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose. thank you for the privilege of your time. you can watch clips of our show on youtube on msnbc.com. andrea mitchell picks up with more news right now. >> and right now, president- elect trump is expected to name florida senator marco rubio, a trump 2016 rival now ally and leading china hawk to be secretary of state. and another china hawk,

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